Earlier today, family members of victims who died in riot ten years ago on 1 July has held a press conference demanding justice. They have criticized the Mongolian government for being incompetent in keeping the public safe.

Memorial Day will be held on Sunday (1 July). During the day, Government officials will lay wreaths at the monument of repressed people and light candles in front of Independence Palace (Building of Mongolian People’s Party).

On 1 July 2008 a riot broke out in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar. Sparked by allegations of fraud surrounding the 2008 legislative election which occurred three days earlier, what was initially a peaceful protest snowballed into a riot. This resulted in Mongolia’s first state of emergency which lasted four days, and a military presence (lasting two of those days) was brought into the city to quell the riot. Five people were killed by the police, and the headquarters of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (who had won the election) – now, MPP headquarters, was set on fire.